BEVERLY HILLS, March 04, (THEWILL) – In a whacky fixture of three penalty kicks, an own-goal and a disallowed goal by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Victor Osimhen’s Napoli scrapped out a hard-fought six-goal thriller that ended in a draw on Wednesday night against Sassuolo away at the MAPEI Stadium.
By the game’s end, both top-six hopefuls could not be separated after the engaging contest and had to share the spoils a point apiece. Napoli continue to chase a top four position and are currently three points adrift with a game in hand. A win against their next opponents, 12th-placed Bologna, will definitely put them in good stead to stay in contention for a place in Europe’s elite competition next season.
Ahead of that fixture, the I Partenopei were back in training on Thursday morning. Nigeria centre forward Osimhen, who was noticeably absent from the draw with Sassuolo as he is still recovering from the head trauma he suffered in the closing minutes against Atalanta on February 21, was with the squad in training for a while.
Gennaro Gattuso’s charges were split into two groups for the day’s training session. Those who participated in the heavy-lifting of the three-all draw were allowed a recovery session while there was a more vigorous session allocated to the non-starters in the team.
The official website of the Naples-based club provided an update on the Nigerian ahead of the home game against Bologna billed for Sunday: “Victor Osimhen spent part of the session with the group and part of it training alone.”
To qualify to be included in the Matchday squad, Osimhen will need to pass concussion protocols and be certified fit before the Italian Football Federation will permit him to return to active duty for the I Partenopei.
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It has been Osimhen’s ill fortune since his big money move from Lille that the goal poacher has not been selected for 19 matches played by Napoli this season due to one recurring issue or the other from a shoulder injury while representing Nigeria to testing positive for COVID-19 to suspension and now a head trauma.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
